Corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in healthy Chinese eyes.

PURPOSE To describe corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in healthy Chinese eyes. METHODS Specular microscopy was performed in 1329 eyes of 700 healthy volunteers (M:F, 311:389), 10 to 98 years of age. Parameters studied included endothelial cell density (CD), cell area (CA), coefficient of variation (CV) in cell area, and percent hexagonality. RESULTS Mean endothelial CD in the study population was 2932 +/- 363 cells/mm2. There was a statistically significant decrease in endothelial CD (P < 0.001; correlation, -0.435) and percentage of hexagonal cells (P < 0.001; correlation, -0.241) with age. Mean CA, CV, and percentage of hexagonal cells were 347 +/- 46 microm2, 33 +/- 5, and 59% +/- 9%, respectively. There was also a statistically significant increase in CA (P < 0.001; correlation, 0.410) and CV (P < 0.001; correlation, 0.251) with increasing age. CONCLUSIONS Normative data for the endothelium in the Chinese population are reported. Our data add to the knowledge about endothelial cell parameters in Chinese eyes and serve as a baseline for comparative studies with other populations.